Love is Weird
by MorganVoyles7
Summary: This is Finnick and Annie's story from day one until the beginning of "Catching Fire". Fate brought them together, but friendship kept them together. An eventual love blossoms between them, which leads to heartbreak and betrayal. Follow them as they try to make sense of why bad things happen to good people.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: First Encounter

It was high noon in District 4 on one of the hottest days of the year. The sun burned the back of Finnick's neck as he stood ankle deep in the body of water outside his house that he had nicknamed Fish Olympus. He thought of the name when he was six and had one day seen the sun make the top of the water shimmer like gold. It reminded him of a bedtime story about the Greek Gods that his father had told him. This was his absolute favorite fishing spot because it was always crawling with fish.

And fishing was the exact reason he was there today. His dad had given him an ultimatum; either he bought some food from the marketplace in town or he caught some food himself. Finnick hated going into town because of how people looked at him. They all had their own ideas on why his mother left, but he tried to just tune them out and stick to what his father had told him.

"Finn! Are you having any luck?"

Finnick's dad interrupted his thoughts, and unfortunately caused him to jerk his legs. He sighed deeply as he saw the fish swim away in all different directions.

"Ugh, I was." He grumbled under his breath.

Riley Odair stood on the shoreline grinning at his son. "You know you could always save some trouble and go into town."

"Why should we spend money when I could just as easily get our food for free?" Finnick started for the shoreline, dragging his trident in the water behind him.

"You can't avoid people forever, Finn. And aren't you getting tired of fish?" His father's voice was soft and full of understanding.

"I think I'm gonna try and use my rod to fish off the dock."

Riley knew why his son was trying to change the subject. He always changed the subject. One day, he was going to call him on it, but right now he understood that 12 year olds weren't supposed to be good at facing their problems.

"Just be careful not to fall in."

"I will." Finnick walked right past is dad without looking him in the eye.

"I'm going into town if you're not, I guess."

"Yeah. Okay. But it's gonna be in vain. I'll catch something." Finnick turned towards his father, trident in hand.

Riley looked at his son. He couldn't believe how grown up he was. It seemed like just a week ago that he was this little boy with a mop of blonde hair that used to run around without a care in the world. Now he was a reclusive pre teenager that didn't socialize with anyone because he was worried about what people thought of his family. It made Riley sad to think that he was missing out on what should be some of the most fun years of his life.

"Yeah, I know you will. I'll just pick up some spices to garnish the fish with. I'll be back in an hour." Riley watched his son grab his rod from the shed and head out onto the long dock that he had built over 15 years ago. After a few moments of watching Finnick attach the bait to his line, Riley turned and headed into town.

Finnick wiped the sweat off his brow. He couldn't believe how hot it was today. Not to mention he was getting frustrated, which was only making the fishing experience all the more miserable.

"Damnit!" Another fish had gotten away before he had reeled his line in. He chucked the fishing rod into the lake and pulled his knees into his chest. Why wasn't he able to catch anything today? Why wouldn't his dad just leave him alone about the whole socializing thing?

He watched as the rod drifted further away from the dock. His mother had given it to him on his eighth birthday, so he couldn't just let it go, no matter how mad he was. He tried to stand up quickly, but the water on the dock caused him to slip and he hit his head on the wood floor. Knocked unconscious, Finnick fell off the dock and into the water.

Annie Cresta wasn't sure exactly where she was going. She knew the Odair's lived down the road, but she wasn't sure how much further. If she didn't get back to her house soon, her parents were going to suspect something, but on the other hand she didn't want to go home without completing her mission.

The water was gorgeous. She couldn't imagine living in a district where she couldn't always look out a window and see those shining waves. Despite how desperate and glum Panem had become lately, the beauty of water always seemed to give Annie hope and make her smile.

Finally she saw the house. It was small but homey. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to keep her courage, she briskly started walking toward the front door. She stopped once she saw him. He was fishing off the end of a long dock. Finnick Odair. The sun shining on Finnick's curly blonde hair made her heart stop. He was cute and Annie had had a crush on him since she first saw him at school. Unfortunately, since his mother had left, he rarely came to school. From what she heard, he spent most of his time working with his father. Even though she had no plans of approaching him, she instinctively attempted to make her short frizzy red hair look more presentable.

All of a sudden she saw him throw his fishing rod into the lake. Why was he upset? Her mom always told her to not be nosy, but she just wanted to go up and ask him to tell her all of his problems so she could help him. Maybe she would give him a hug. Annie blushed at the ridiculous thought.

Finnick hitting his head on the dock made Annie freeze in terror. She watched him fall into the water and not resurface.

"Finnick!" She ran as fast as she could towards the dock. When she got to the edge of the dock she kicked off her shoes and jumped in after him.

Pulling him up on the shore by his arms was the hardest part. He was heavy and the fact he was dripping wet only made it worse. Once she got him away from the lapping waves she put him down and went to his side. He wasn't breathing, so she started the technique that her grandmother had taught her. She pushed on his chest and then pressed her lips to his and breathed into him. It wasn't long before he started sputtering. He sat up quickly and started spitting out water. Annie sat back and watched him, relief flooding over her. After he was done coughing, he started shaking the water out of his hair. Once he caught sight of Annie, however, he stopped.

"How are you?" she asked.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped.

"You're welcome."

"What?"

Annie stood up and brushed the sand off of her soaked jeans. "Well although you said, 'what are you doing here', I assumed you meant, 'thank you for saving my life', so I responded accordingly." She flashed him a smile.

Finnick frowned and averted his eyes. He began to pick up the wet sand and squish it a little before letting it slip through his fingers. After a moment he reached his hand to the back of his head. As his fingers touched his scalp, he flinched in pain.

"Where's my fishing rod?"

"I'm not sure."

"You mean you didn't grab it?" Finnick snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was a little too busy saving your life to worry about your stupid fishing rod!" Annie couldn't believe how ungrateful he was being.

"It isn't stupid. And I didn't ask you to save my life."

Annie threw her arms in the air. "Oh of course you didn't. You were a little too busy DROWNING TO DEATH!"

"Right. Well don't you have somewhere to be, Ginger?" Finnick's eyes flashed maliciously. "Ginger" was the nickname that they used to call Annie in school. She hated that name.

"How dare you? You listen here Finnick Odair I…"

"FINNICK!"

Riley was running toward them at full speed. When he reached them, he dropped down next to his son and grabbed his arms.

"What happened? Are you all right? Damnit, I told you to be careful on that dock!"

Finnick remained silent, his eyes wide. Annie could tell that he was scared. The harshness and desperation in his voice even scared her.

"He slipped." Annie's voice was so soft, she wasn't sure if he could even hear her.

Riley's head turned to her. "What?"

"He was trying to retrieve his fishing rod, and he slipped and hit his head."

"Did you save him?" Riley's eyes were deep blue like Finnick's. He was staring at her so intently that she began to blush.

"Yes, she did. Annie saved my life."

So, he did know her real name. He was just calling her that nickname in order to upset her. What a jerk.

Riley stood up and pulled Annie into his arms. "Thank you, Annie. I can never repay you."

Annie didn't know what to do, so she stood stiffly in his embrace. "It's not a problem."

"Dad. You're embarrassing her." Finnick's voice sounded annoyed.

Riley quickly let her go. "You're right. I'm sorry about that Ms. Annie…"

"Cresta," She finished. "Annie Cresta."

"Well Ms. Cresta. Whatever you need, it's yours. Just name it."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finnick getting up and brushing the sand off of his clothes. He began heading back to the house. She watched the way he shook his head slightly as he walked away, like he was disappointed in something.

"Ms. Cresta? What did you come here for anyway?" Riley stepped in front of Annie's view of Finnick.

"Oh, um, I sort of came here for a favor." She couldn't look him in the eye.

"What is it?"

"Well, my daddy got fired from his job at the market, so I was wondering if you had any openings on your boat. He can do anything. He'll even just mop the deck or something."

Riley smiled. Annie was sure that if Finnick ever smiled they would look exactly alike.

"Anything for you, Ms. Annie."

Annie couldn't contain her excitement. She clenched her fists and stood on the balls of her feet. "Thank you very much, Mr. Odair! You've helped my family immensely. Now I owe you."

"Alright, I just need you to do one thing for me, Ms. Cresta."

"What?"

"Come back here tomorrow and hang out with Finnick. Please."

Annie blushed. "Oh, Mr. Odair. I don't think he would want to hang out with me. I'm sorry."

She turned away from him and began to head home.

"Annie!" She turned around to look at him.

He grinned at her again. "He remembered your name."

Annie nodded at him before turning around and running back to town.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Next Day

Despite her best efforts to stay away from the Odair house, Annie's strong feeling of respect for Riley Odair brought her back to their front door. She felt like she owed him, even though she had saved Finnick's life. There was just something in his eyes when he asked her to hang out with Finnick that made her feel sympathy for him. Therefore, she convinced herself that she was doing this just for Riley and not for Finnick. This was just a job. A job for a job.

There was such an awkwardly long pause after she knocked on the front door that she almost considered walking back home.

"What are you doing here?" Finnick's voice came from behind her. She jumped slightly before turning around. He was on the steps of his front porch just staring at her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Why do you always ask me that?"

He didn't answer.

"Okay, well I'm actually here for my shoes." Annie started.

"Your shoes?"

"Yes. I kicked them off before I jumped in after you. Then, once I got home, I realized I had forgotten them. "

Finnick rolled his eyes and scoffed. "How exactly do you forget your shoes? Are you stupid or something?"

Annie placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'll have you know that I don't usually wear shoes. I wore them over here yesterday in order to be more presentable. So obviously I didn't really feel like I was missing anything when I went home."

Finnick laughed. "Right. Well, I think I saw them still sitting on the dock, Ginger."

"Don't you dare call me that! My name is Annie Cresta!" Blood rushed to Annie's cheeks and she clenched her fists.

"Whoa, calm down. I'm just teasing. Gah, you're temperamental."

"That's a big word, Finnick. Be sure you don't choke on it next time." Annie brushed past him and headed for the dock.

Weirdly enough, Finnick began to follow her. "You know I don't need you here keeping me company."

Annie kept walking. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, cut the crap. I know my dad asked you to come and hang out with me. He thinks I need a friend."

She stopped. "Don't you?"

"No. I don't need anyone."

She turned to face him. "That is a sad way to live, Finnick. I don't think you should…"

"Listen Cresta, I don't need your advice. You're like 9 years old!"

"I'm eleven."

"Wow. Big difference." He began to walk back to his house. "Just get your shoes and get the hell out of here."

He was extremely infuriating, but Annie was not going to give up that easily. She agreed to hang out with him for one day, and it was barely half past noon.

"Hey, Finn." She yelled, "How well do you know how to swim?"

"Why?"

"Because I've been swimming since I was born, and I would love to help you become a better swimmer." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Don't make excuses so that you can stay and make my father happy." Finnick glared at her.

She crossed her arms. "Look, I've already eaten lunch, so I'm all good to stay here until close to dinner time. I don't mind following you around or just sitting and watching you mope. I'm spending the day with you no matter what. Now, it's up to you what exactly we do."

"I'm a good swimmer. I don't need your help."

"Is that why your dad was so concerned with you being careful on the dock? Because you're a good swimmer? That just doesn't make any sense."

"That dock is old! He was just…"

"What?" Annie interrupted.

Finnick rushed towards Annie and got in her face. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"And you're really stubborn! Just take the free swimming lesson, Finn. What harm is it going to do?"

"Look I don't need your swimming lesson. I don't need you here babysitting me. I don't need you." Finnick was furious.

Annie stepped back. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin.

"Okay. You're right. I'll leave you alone." Annie turned and started running towards the end of the dock.

"Wait! Where are you going?" He ran after her.

Once Annie got to the end of the dock, she jumped in.

Finnick stopped dead before he reached the end.

"Get out of there!" Finnick yelled once Annie resurfaced.

She splashed water at him. "Or what?"

He was fuming. "Or I'll tell the Peace Keepers that you're trespassing on my land."

Annie wiped water out of her eyes and just glared at him. "Fine. Go ahead."

She was testing him in order to see whether or not he was lying about his swimming ability. Granted, he wasn't completely lying. He could swim as long as he was only in a few feet of water. He definitely, however, was not going to let her know that. Without fully considering the weight of his decision, Finnick jumped in to the water.

Later:

"Hey idiot, wake up." Annie lightly slapped Finnick across the face.

He shot up quickly and looked around. He was lying on the beach again. Annie was sitting next to him with a giant smile on her face.

"That is two that you owe me." She giggled.

"I…I just…"

"Look, no explanation necessary. I understand that you were trying to defend your manliness by saying that you knew how to swim. But you were extremely stupid to risk your life on the off chance that you would prove me wrong. Which you didn't, by the way."

Finnick and Annie just stared at one another for a few moments before she had to look away out of embarrassment.

"Will you promise to never come back if I let you give me one swimming lesson today?"

Annie tilted her head. "Never is a long time, Finnick."

Finnick let out a frustrated sigh. "Just promise, okay."

She smiled. "Okay. I promise."

Even Later:

"Just relax, and remember to breathe." Annie was standing next to Finnick, who was attempting to float on his back in about four feet of water.

"I am relaxing, Annie." Finnick snapped, becoming more and more irritated.

"You're obviously not relaxing, because you're sinking, again."

Finnick jerked his body as he felt the water cover his face. Before sinking completely, he twisted his body so that his feet found the soft floor of the lake. He stood up and pushed his wet hair out of his face.

"I'm done."

"Oh, come on. You almost had it."

He gave her and incredulous look. "Really? Really? Because it looked to me like I was failing miserably for the millionth time today."

Annie started laughing. "Okay, maybe a little, but you have to keep trying."

"No. This was a mistake. Go home, Annie."

She stopped laughing when she realized just how serious he was being.

"I don't understand."

"It's almost sunset. You fulfilled your obligation. Now, go home." Finnick trudged out of the water and headed for his house."

Sadness filled Annie as she watched him leave.


	3. Chapter 3

A note from the Author: Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story! This will probably be the first and last note that I make. I just felt the need to address the time jump you are about to read. I want to explore this story by skipping around in time, so I'm asking you to trust me. At first the time jumps might be a tad confusing, but I promise that I will sort everything out before the end. Also, you will hear something about Finnick's and Annie's relationship that you might not understand at first. I'll just give you this hint: the end of chapter two was not necessarily the end of their interaction that day. If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment or message me. I'll be glad to answer them as long as nothing major about the plot is given away.

Chapter 3: Six Years Later

"Cresta! Are you almost done counting inventory back there?"

Annie poked her head out of the storage room. "Yes, Mr. Lipinski!" She was wearing a plain white sundress with brown sandals. Her long red hair was neatly braided with a blue ribbon on the end. She had a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

She only had one more shelf of canned seaweed to count before her boss would let her go home. Unfortunately, this shelf seemed to be stocked with never ending cans. She was worried that her eyes might permanently cross if she counted any more.

"Annie!"

She whirled around to see her friend and fellow employee, Naomi, standing in the doorway.

"Annie you are literally the slowest counter ever!" Naomi teased.

"Well excuse me, but I'm just trying to do a good job."

Both Naomi and Annie began to laugh at that comment. They had been friends since Annie began this job about six months ago. On her first day, Annie spilt a giant can of seaweed all over the floor. Mr. Lipinski was furious and would have probably fired her if Naomi hadn't stepped up and said that she had done it accidentally. Naomi was Mr. Lipinski's niece, so he could not fire her without repercussions from his sister. At least, that is what Naomi had explained to Annie after she had taken the fall for her.

"Just flub the rest of the numbers so that we can hang out." Naomi pleaded before dropping to her knees in a dramatic gesture and flinging her arms open. "Please! I'm dying here, Annie!"

"I can't. Lipinksi will get mad." Annie ignored the pleas of her friend and got back to counting.

Naomi got up from the floor, rolled her dark brown eyes, and twirled a piece of her curly hair between her fingers. "Well fine then. I guess I'll just have to—"

"Cresta!"

Annie and Naomi turned around to the disapproving gaze of their boss, Mr. Lipinski.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to run Mags' groceries over to her house." Mr. Lipinski's hands were placed firmly on his hips and he was wearing his usual angry expression.

Both of the girls' eyes went wide.

"In Victor's Village?"

"Of course, Cresta. Where else do you think she lives? Are you stupid?"

"Uh, no sir," Annie stuttered, "It's just that I thought Marian usually took Mags her groceries."

"Well today she sent me a message saying she wanted you to deliver them. So get a move on or you're fired."

"But sir, I need to finish the inventory."

"Now!" he ordered.

Annie put down her clipboard and started to leave the room.

"Wait, can I go with her Uncle Robin?" Naomi asked.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine."

Later:

"What are you worried about the most? Seeing him?" Naomi asked her nervous looking friend as they walked down the street. Annie hadn't said a word since she and Naomi had left the shop with Mags' groceries in hand.

"Yeah. I mean, I've tried to avoid Victor's Village since he told me he never wanted to see me ever again."

"What an ass."

Annie shook her head. "Don't call him that. He's just—"

"An ass," Naomi finished. "Look, Annie I know you used to be best friends when you were younger, but things are different. He betrayed you."

"No, he didn't betray me. Something happened in the games. They changed him, so when he got back, things just weren't the same. Well, I guess things started to change before the games, probably around the time that Riley died." Annie could feel a lump forming in her throat.

Naomi scoffed. "You should never have become friends with him in the first place."

"I didn't mean to."

"What?"

"I mean, the first time we actually talked, I was positive we would never be friends, but then something happened." Annie thought back to that summer day six years ago where she had given Finnick his first swimming lesson.

Naomi hung on her every word. "What happened?"

Annie averted her eyes. "Don't get mad, but I can't tell you."

"What? Why not? I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."

"It's just that that memory is special, and I've never told anyone about it before. I don't want to share it with anyone but him." Annie stopped and looked Naomi in the eye. "You understand that don't you?"

A sly smile spread across Naomi's face. "Sure I understand. I understand that you're in love with Finnick Odair."

Annie's cheeks flushed and she began a brisk pace towards Victor's Village. "That's ridiculous."

Naomi had to jog to keep up with her. "Do you deny it?"

"Of course."

Naomi grabbed Annie's arm, causing her to stop. "Then I want to hear you say it."

Annie turned towards her friend. "Say what?"

"That you're not in love with Finnick."

"Come on, Naomi. We're gonna be late and then your uncle is gonna fire me."

Naomi raised her eyebrow. "Say it."

Annie let out a sigh. "Fine. I'm not in love with Finnick Odair."

Naomi's mouth fell open and she just stared at her friend. "You're such a liar! I can't believe you're in love with Finnick."

Annie clamped her hand over Naomi's mouth. "Hush! Let's go."

When Annie removed her hand and started walking away, Naomi did a short but satisfying victory dance. "I knew it!" she screamed before following Annie to Victor's Village.

Victor's Village:

"Well, which one does old crazy Mags live in?" Naomi asked when they entered the stone gates.

Annie looked at the note from Mr. Lipinski, and then at the different houses. She pointed to the one that was almost at the end of the row on the right. "That one."

"Alright, hurry up so we can do something fun." Naomi urged.

"Wait, you're not coming with me?"

"Of course not! That Mags is kind of a loon." With her index finger, Naomi made a counterclockwise motion on her temple.

"Then why did you want to come with me?" Annie wondered.

Naomi bit her lip and looked a little guilty. "So that I didn't have to count the rest of the inventory."

Annie smiled. "You jerk."

"Oh, you love me and you know it."

"Ugh, you're right, I do." Annie admitted.

Smiling wickedly, Naomi added, "But not as much as you love Finnick. I wonder which of these houses is his."

Annie ignored her and headed toward Mags' house.

Marian had talked about how Mags always left her door unlocked so that she could walk right in whenever she brought the groceries. Although, Annie felt uneasy about walking into someone's house, she really wanted to just put up the groceries quickly, without attracting too much attention. After taking a deep breath to boost her confidence, Annie turned the doorknob and went inside.

She had seen the inside of one of these houses before because the school had taken them to Victor's Village as a field trip when she was eight years old. This one looked only slightly different than the one she had seen many years ago. It had small homey touches that Mags must have added throughout the years.

"Hello?" Annie said, her voice slightly raised.

No answer.

Annie let out a sigh of relief and then made her way to the kitchen. She placed the grocery bags on the counter and began unpacking them. She was so engrossed with putting them away that she didn't notice the sound of the front door opening.

"Mags, I found something interesting about…"

Annie whipped around quickly at the sound of the familiar voice and promptly dropped the can of fruit she was holding when she saw him walk in the room. Finnick Odair. He was wearing dark blue pants and a thin white button up shirt. His blonde hair was windswept.

He looked just as shocked as she felt. She couldn't move. She could barely think. For a moment, they just stared in silence at one another.

"What are you doing here?" His voice lacked the hint of annoyance that she remembered. His face, however, expressed extreme displeasure. Was he that upset about seeing her?

Her eyes widened and her hands began to shake. "Why do you always ask me that?"

"You shouldn't be here." Finnick took a step towards her. Annie backed away from him until she touched the wall behind her.

"I...I'm sorry. I was just delivering her groceries. I didn't mean…" Annie's whole body was shaking now. She wasn't scared of Finnick, but seeing him definitely made her nervous. Her breathing was strained and staggered.

A concerned look crossed Finnick's face when he noticed Annie's shortness of breath.

"Annie? Are you okay?" He closed the distance between them.

He raised his hands like he wanted to touch her, but then he put them down quickly.

Once again, they just stared at one another quietly until Annie felt as though she was going to throw up.

"I…I have to go." Annie pushed past him and made her way to the front door.

Finnick wanted to say something to make her stay, but he knew that he couldn't. After she left, he let out a deep breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding. He ran his hands through his hair and kicked a nearby cabinet out of frustration. What was she even doing there? Everything would be fine as long as he didn't have to see her. It isn't that he didn't want to see her; it's that he couldn't see her. He couldn't see her ever again. Damn, it was good seeing her, though.

Finnick was leaning against the counter when Mags walked into the kitchen. She came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. As soon as he felt her touch, he turned on her angrily.

"Was this your idea? Was it? Did you ask for her to come and deliver your groceries?" He was livid.

Mags stared at him defiantly.

He threw one of the cans Annie had left on the counter across the room. "I knew it! Damnit, Mags! This isn't your business!"

She raised her left eyebrow.

"Look, these dreams I'm having and these feelings will pass, I promise you. Until then, seeing Annie is only going to make them worse." He only partially believed what he was saying.

The dreams about Annie had been going on since the games but the strange feelings only started about a month ago when he had visited his father's grave. Annie was already standing in front of Riley's grave when he arrived. She was wearing a flowing dress and her hair fell freely around her shoulders. She had the loveliest bouquet of flowers in her hand, and he watched from the shadows as she placed them delicately on the tombstone. A tear rolled down her cheek, and the only thing Finnick could think about was how beautiful and caring she was. He watched her talk to the stone for a few minutes before wiping her eyes and leaving. Ever since that day, he thought of her incessantly, and he felt something for her that he had never felt before.

Unfortunately, he had had the brilliant idea to talk to Mags about this whole situation, and now it had completely blown up in his face. She was convinced that he needed to rekindle his friendship with Annie, but he knew that he absolutely couldn't. She wouldn't want to be his friend, anyway; especially not after the way he had acted towards her four years ago. And after seeing her today, Finnick knew that she was terrified of him. She had good reason to be, though. He was a disgusting monster, and he didn't deserve a friend like her.

Mags touched him on the shoulder again, which brought him out of his thoughts. She looked deep into his eyes.

"Mags. I can't. She hates me."

She shook her head.

"But what if something—"

Mags placed her hand over his heart and smiled.

Finnick smiled back at her before grabbing something off the counter and running out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: That Night-Four Years Earlier

He had finally come home, and Annie was happier than she'd ever been in her life! She had waited all day for the train to arrive in District 4, but unfortunately she didn't get to see him when he got off. Everyone had crowded around him, and she tried in vain to yell his name. She then attempted to push her way through the throng of people applauding their newest victor, but she never even got close to him. She thought if she waited long enough then he would come and find her. He didn't. She didn't get discouraged, however, because she figured he must be extremely tired after all of the events.

The next day, Annie made her way to Victor's Village. The gate, however, was being guarded by Peacekeepers.

"Hello." Annie said timidly as she approached the large Peacekeeper. "I'm here to see Finnick Odair. I'm his friend, Annie Cresta."

"No one but official Capitol personnel is allowed in Victor's Village." His tone was final.

"Can't I just see him for a few minutes?"

"No."

Once again, Annie didn't get discouraged. She had waited a long time to see Finnick and a day or two more wouldn't kill her.

She ran home quickly and scribbled a note on a spare piece of paper. Immediately, she took it back to the Peacekeeper outside of Victor's Village.

"Will you give this to Finnick, please?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Please."

After rolling his eyes, the Peacekeeper held out his hand. Annie placed the note in his palm and smiled at him.

"Thank you."

He dismissed her with a wave. Annie ran home with a nervous feeling in her stomach. She was hopefully going to see him in the next 24 hours and then she would tell him what she had wanted to tell him from day one. She liked him. She really liked him. Before the games, she never had the courage to let him know. Now, she understood that life was too short to not say what needed to be said. After watching Finnick being dragged away by the Peacekeepers, she had promised herself that if he survived the games, she would tell him. Hopefully when she finally saw him, she would not lose her nerve.

The next day, Annie couldn't concentrate on anything she was supposed to be doing. The note she had written had told Finnick to meet her at his old house at nightfall. Although, she wasn't sure he would actually get the note, the possibility of seeing him made her heart race and made it impossible for her to think about anything else. She had even forgotten to pick up her younger brother, Milo, from school. Usually, she waited outside of school and walked him home. When she wasn't waiting, Milo had walked home himself and Annie's mother had gotten extremely upset. Unfortunately, this was not the first time Annie had incurred her mother's wrath recently. Adelaide Cresta was slowly becoming more and more irritated at the seemingly perpetual day dreaming state her daughter had been in since Finnick's victory.

"Are you sure he will even want to see you, honey?" Adelaide Cresta asked her daughter a few minutes before she was going to leave to meet Finnick.

"Why would you even say that, Mom?" Annie was attempting to tame her short curly hair by tying it up with a blue ribbon.

"He hasn't come to see you yet."

Annie dismissed her mother. "He's been really busy. I don't know if you remember, but he did just win the Hunger Games. Not to mention, he's the youngest person to ever win. "

"Annie, enough with the sarcasm. I know Finnick's been through a lot. I'm not saying he hasn't. I'm simply saying..."

"What?"

"Well it's just that the Capitol changes people, Annie. It can be very seductive." Adelaide pinned back a stray piece of Annie's hair and helped her button the back of her dress.

"Finnick isn't like that. He still wants to be friends with me. The Capitol can't change him like that." One final glance at herself in the mirror and she felt ready to possibly meet him that night.

Adelaide looked at her with sad eyes. "I love Finnick, honey. You know I do, but think about what happened to his mother."

Annie whirled around. "I don't give a damn what people say about his mother. It's not the truth."

When it was clear Adelaide was not going to drop the subject, Annie quickly headed towards the door. Adelaide followed behind her. "His mother was a beautiful woman who became tired of District life. She went to the Capitol and because of her enchanting beauty; she was welcomed with open arms. She left both Finnick and his father to marry a wealthy man twice her age." Adelaide grabbed Annie's arm and made her turn around and face her. "That is what the Capitol does to people."

Annie clenched her fists. "Finnick is a good person."

"So was his mother."

Annie pulled away from her mother and left the house in a huff, slamming the door in Adelaide's face.

Later:

The sun had set almost half an hour ago and Finnick had still not shown up to meet her. Annie told herself that if he wasn't there in the next fifteen minutes then she would definitely go home. She was waiting near the dock where they had first officially met, her hands shaking.

A twig cracking underneath a shoe startled Annie and caused her to turn around quickly. There he was, standing in the moonlight. Finnick Odair. She couldn't hold herself back from running up and throwing her arms around him. He felt stronger and sturdier than she remembered, but he still felt like Finnick. The happiness she was feeling from being in his presence, however, quickly faded. Instead of reciprocating her hug, Finnick's arms hung stiffly at his sides. She let go of him slowly and looked into his eyes. They were empty.

"Finnick, what's wrong?"

"I got your note." His voice was monotone.

Annie attempted a smile. "I'm glad you did. I wasn't sure he would deliver it to you."

"Well, he did. What do you need to tell me?"

"Tell you? I don't understand what you mean."

Finnick seemed annoyed. "Well, I'm assuming since you left me that note; you had something to tell me. If I'm wrong, then you've dragged me out here for nothing and wasted my time."

Annie couldn't believe what he was saying to her. Was this some sort of sick joke?

"Finnick, I brought you out here so that I could see you. I've missed you."

He shook his head. "Pathetic."

"What?"

A look that Annie had never seen on Finnick before crossed his face. Maliciousness.

"Annie, it was cute when you had a crush on me before the games, but now it's just really pathetic. I mean, who doesn't have a crush on me now? I'm the youngest and definitely most attractive person ever to win the games. I'm adored by every woman in the Capitol, and most of them are more beautiful and exciting than you."

Annie was too stunned to say anything, so he continued with his ruthless words.

"In fact, I wouldn't have even agreed to meet you here if it hadn't been for that friendship we shared before the games. You're not really worth my time anymore. You're just so...plain."

"Why are you saying this, Finnick? This isn't you! I know you would never talk to me this way." Annie could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

Finnick grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her to him. "You don't know me anymore."

The tears flowed freely from her eyes now. "You're hurting me, Finnick. Let go of my arm."

He let her go with such force that she tumbled back onto the ground. Finnick moved like he was going to help her up but then a confused look crossed his face, and he stepped back to his original position.

"Go home, Annie. I never want to see you again." He turned like he was going to leave.

Annie got up from the ground and ran towards him. She blocked his way.

"I don't believe you."

"Get out of my way before you get hurt again."

She stood her ground. "No. I refuse to let you just end our friendship. Whatever has happened to you, we can get through it. Just talk to me. What did the Capitol do to you?"

"They showed me the truth. They opened my eyes to the evilness and the worthlessness of the Districts. It's so beautiful in the Capitol and so dreadful here. I wouldn't have even come back if it wasn't my duty."

She still couldn't believe what he was saying. "What would your father do if he heard you say that?"

"My father was a fool."

Annie had never slapped anyone as hard as she slapped Finnick. He recoiled slightly, a look of shock on his face.

"Don't you ever say anything like that about Riley ever again. He was a good man and you don't get to disrespect him." Annie's sadness was being replaced by anger.

Finnick snorted. "He's my father. I'll say whatever the hell I want about him."

"No. He's not your father. You're not Finnick. You're someone else."

His face was emotionless. "Then why are you still here talking to me?"

"I don't know. Maybe I thought…"

"What?"

They looked at each other for a long moment before Annie had to make one of the hardest decisions of her life.

"Goodbye Finnick. If you ever decide to tell me what is going on then I'll be happy to listen. But until then, I'll honor your wishes and stay away from you."

Before Annie left, Finnick said one more thing. "Like mother like son, I guess."

After leaving, Annie never looked back. When she finally got home, she let out all of the tears that had been building up since her encounter with Finnick had ended. Adelaide attempted to comfort her, but she pushed away all of her mother's advances and locked herself in her room. She laid down on her bed and cried herself to sleep, just like the first night after Finnick had left for the Capitol.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Just Give Me a Reason

Naomi was extremely surprised to see Annie run out of Mag's house and not stop until after she was far away from the gates of Victor's Village. Fortunately, Annie had to bend over and catch her breath after she had stopped running, so Naomi was able to catch up with her. She immediately started questioning Annie about the events that had transpired. She hadn't seen Finnick walk into Mag's house, so she had no idea why Annie was so flustered. After Annie explained through staggered breaths, Naomi started asking her even more questions in rapid succession. Annie held up her hands, signaling that she couldn't handle that many questions at once. Therefore, Naomi picked one question and went from there.

"So what? You just froze?"

Annie gave her an incredulous look. "Of course I froze! I haven't seen him in four years, Naomi! What would you have done?"

"Well, I would have given him a piece of my mind!"

"Oh really? What exactly would you have said?" Annie was still short of breath.

Naomi thought for a moment. "I would have told him that he could shove it!"

Annie laughed, which surprisingly helped slow her racing heart.

Naomi noticed her friend's pale face and shaky hands. "Are you okay?"

"My heart…it just feels like it's going to bust out of my chest. Seeing him again was like the first breath you take after being underwater for a long time. I just can't believe that he still has the ability to make me feel that way after all these years." She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand and took a deep breath.

A mischievous smile spread across Naomi's face and she pulled Annie into a warm embrace. "You should have told him you loved him."

"No. I would have just embarrassed myself. He acted like seeing me was the worst thing that ever happened to him. And since he's been in the Games, that is saying a lot."

Annie broke away from Naomi. "I wish I didn't feel this way about him, Naomi. In fact, my feelings should have decreased over the years, but they didn't. They just got stronger. How does that make sense?"

Naomi suddenly seemed preoccupied, and her body language changed dramatically.

"Naomi?"

She was staring at something in the distance. "Annie, tell me the truth. If you could say anything to Finnick, what would it be?"

Annie was confused by her sudden change. "Well, I guess I would tell him that I missed him. Why?"

"Because he's coming this way and you might not get another chance to tell him."

Annie's eyes went wide and she whirled around. There he was, running towards them. Finnick Odair. Why was he here? Was he upset? All of her anxiety from before rushed back and she nearly fell backwards into Naomi.

He stopped a few feet away from them and smiled nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Annie's voice was surprisingly not shaky.

Finnick chuckled. "Hey, that's my line. Remember."

There was an extremely awkward silence for almost a minute before Naomi absolutely couldn't handle it anymore.

"Hello, my name is Naomi." She held out her hand politely.

Finnick grabbed her hand and offered one of his most swoon worthy smiles. "Hello Naomi, I'm Finnick Odair."

It didn't even faze her. "Yes, I know who you are. But seeing as though you're adored by every woman in the whole world, it would be weird if I didn't know you." Her words were daggers. "Some of those women are very pretty, I hear." Her eyes were as cold as ice.

Annie was mortified by Naomi's blatant passive aggressiveness.

Finnick cleared his throat and let go of her hand. "Ouch. But I guess I deserved that."

Naomi's eyes narrowed. "That and a lot more, Odair."

"Excuse me."

It was time for Annie to interject. "What did you say you were here for, Finnick?"

His eyes locked with Annie's and a breath caught in her throat. "You left your tip."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an obscene amount of money.

Annie shook her head. "Oh no. I didn't even finish. I don't deserve a tip, let alone one that large."

He was still holding out his hand, but Annie didn't make any move to take the tip from him.

"Mags insisted. Come on Annie. You can use it to buy Milo a really nice birthday present. Isn't his birthday the day after tomorrow?"

She was shocked that he would even remember something like that. "Yes, it is. You remembered?"

"Yeah. Come on, Cresta. Just take it."

Annie reached out and took the money. Her hand briefly touched Finnick's, and a chill ran down her spine.

Naomi's eyes kept switching from Finnick to Annie during that entire exchange. She was highly interested in their interaction. However, when they started just looking at each other after Annie took the money, Naomi knew it was time to leave them alone. Although she didn't particularly like Finnick, she knew Annie needed time with him to resolve their issues.

"I have to go." She said this a little louder than necessary.

Annie broke away from Finnick's strong gaze and turned to her. "Naomi, you can't go. I thought we were going to hang out after this."

She shrugged. "Well, I just remembered that I need to probably finish counting that inventory. I don't want to incur my Uncle's wrath, you know."

"But Naomi—"

"Message me later, okay." She hugged Annie tightly before giving Finnick a rude look. "It was nice meeting you." She briskly walked away, leaving Annie and Finnick in another awkward situation.

"She hates me." Finnick stated.

"No she just—"

"I mean I deserve it."

Annie shook her head. "No, you don't."

"How can you say that, Annie? I said awful things to you."

She shrugged. "I forgave you a long time ago."

He laughed. "That's because you're a good person. A regular person would not have been as understanding."

"But I don't understand, Finnick. Why did you push me away?" Annie's stomach began to turn at the thought of finally figuring out what she had been wondering about for four years.

Finnick's demeanor quickly changed and he became visibly uncomfortable. "Annie…I…I told you why…that night."

She started getting angry, because he was still lying to her after all these years. "No. Finnick tell me the truth. If you want to be friends again then you need to tell me."

There was a longing in his eyes but he said nothing.

"That is why you came after me, right? To be friends again? Or was it just about the tip?"

Still nothing.

"Finnick, say something. I can't live like this anymore; always wondering if I'm ever going to be with you again." Blood rushed to her cheeks when she realized how her words sounded. She looked at the ground to hide her blush. "You know what I mean…"

"Annie I do want to be friends again. There are just some things that…" His voice trailed off.

"No. Don't patronize me, Finnick. I get it. Whatever we had is gone. It's been gone for a long time. I've just been too stupid and naïve to actually accept it." She wiped her eyes, hoping that he wouldn't see the tears filling them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go home. Goodbye."

He didn't want her to leave him again, but he absolutely couldn't tell her the truth. The truth was far too painful. On the other hand, he couldn't bear to be away from Annie anymore. Just their short encounter that day reminded him of how much he needed her. Finnick was sure there was some way to make her stay without telling her the truth behind his actions that night. She was about to leave, so he needed to make a decision quickly. Without fully thinking through his actions, he grabbed Annie's arm before she could turn away from him. She tried to pull away, but he was stronger.

"Finnick, what are you…" He silenced her by pressing his lips to hers.

Annie's eyes widened and her whole body filled with a warmth that she'd never felt before. She couldn't believe he was actually kissing her. It was way better than she'd imagined. His lips were soft and smooth. Her head began to get fuzzy and she almost forgot about why she was even mad at him. Suddenly, a thought came into her head, which caused her to forcefully push Finnick away.

"What's wrong?" he wondered. His face was bright red and his breathing was short.

"Why did you kiss me?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to kiss you."

Annie laughed despite the fact that she was extremely upset. "No. You were trying to distract me from the fact that after all of these years, you still care nothing about the friendship we used to have."

"What? Annie that's not true. I care a great deal about our friendship." He explained. "I kissed you because I like you." Finnick tried to reach out and touch her, but she backed away.

"Well, if you like me so much then tell me why you said those things four years ago." She crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly.

Finnick couldn't believe that she wouldn't' budge on knowing why he broke off their friendship. Although he understood why she was upset, he was starting to get heated over the fact that he kept putting himself out there and she kept shutting him down.

"Annie," his voice was louder than he intended. "Why can't we just be friends again?"

"I knew it! I knew that you were just hoping that if you kissed me, I would immediately fall in love with you and forget how you dropped me without any explanation. Well I'm not that pathetic girl anymore Finnick. I've changed." She paused before throwing the last punch. "You don't know me anymore."

That was the second time his words from that night had been thrown in his face. He absolutely couldn't contain his aggravation anymore. "Well, for someone who supposedly forgave me, you sure bring up the past a lot."

Annie was taken aback by his stern and harsh tone of voice. She could see that he was now on the offensive rather than the defensive, which only made her madder.

"Well, I guess I lied! But you already know all about that!"

"Listen, Annie I'm trying my best here! Do you think all of this has been easy for me?"

"No, I'm sure it hasn't, but you don't get to use me to help you feel better."

He ran his hands through his hair and let out an exhausted sigh. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was using you. I just wanted you to stay." A pause. "I missed you Annie."

Annie stopped and thought about how she told Naomi she would tell Finnick that she missed him if she got the chance. Well, here was her chance. She unclenched her jaw and lowered the pitch of her voice.

"I've missed you as well, Finnick."

Finnick took this moment of softness in Annie to gently place both his hands on either side of her face. This time she didn't flinch away from him. He looked deep into her eyes. "Then what is the problem? Why can't things just be like they were?" He touched his forehead to hers. "Why can't we just forget about that night and move on?"

A million thoughts raced through Annie's head all at once. She wanted to completely forget about that night, but her pride kept her from accepting defeat when it came to knowing the truth. Just talking to Finnick (although they'd spent most of their time fighting), had made Annie happier than she'd been in a while. She wanted what they used to have more than she'd wanted almost anything else in her life.

"Annie," his voice was almost a whisper, "Please just give me a chance."

She pulled away from him. "It's not about chances, Finnick. It's about trust. How can I trust that you won't pull something like this again?"

"I won't." He said sincerely.

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "I just need some time to process all of this. A lot has happened today and I'm not sure how much more my nerves can take."

He smiled at the sliver of hope. "Alright. Thank you."

"I'll see you later, Finnick." Annie had the urge to hug him goodbye, but she controlled herself.

Finnick watched her walk away until she was completely out of his eyesight. Although today hadn't gone exactly how he hoped when he ran out of Mag's house, he was better off because of what had happened. Annie was going to think about giving him another chance, which seemed like a task that was extremely out of reach earlier that day. Deep down Finnick knew that he didn't really deserve Annie, but there was also a part of him that understood that neither of them would be complete without the other. For this reason, he was going to fight hard to win Annie back completely. He had faced worse odds before.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-An Invitation

Naomi wouldn't leave Annie alone about what had transpired between her and Finnick the day before. She wasn't buying that "nothing had happened". Obviously something had happened or else Annie wouldn't have been dodging her questions all day.

"Just tell me one thing, okay." Naomi was standing behind the checkout counter with Annie. Annie was attempting to look busy by wiping down the counter tops with a thin cloth, but Naomi didn't even bother with that formality. She looked openly disinterested in the job she was supposed to be doing.

Annie didn't want to talk to her about this right now until she was fully able to process her feelings, but Naomi had nagged her to such an extent that she would say anything at this point to stop her questions. "Okay. One thing."

Naomi started giggling, which told Annie that she wasn't going to like the question. "So, when is the wedding exactly?" The laughter that followed was loud and obnoxious. Naomi obviously thought that her joke was the funniest thing that had ever been said. Her reaction reminded Annie of the Hunger Games host, Caesar Flickerman. He too thought that his jokes belonged in some sort of record book.

Annie rolled her eyes and turned away from her friend.

Naomi continued to laugh until someone came up to the counter. "So who's getting married?"

Annie whipped around quickly. Dominic, a local boy who was a little older than Annie and Naomi, was standing at the counter with a smile on his face. He came around the store at least three times a week to see Annie. She never encouraged the behavior, however, because she didn't want him to think that she liked him as much as he obviously liked her. Annie had asked Naomi to tell her Uncle about Dominic's frequent visits in the hopes that he would ban him from the store for loitering and not buying anything. That plan didn't work out, however, because Dominic was the mayor's oldest son. The Mayor was one of Mr. Lipinksi's highest paying customers, and he wanted to keep him happy at all costs, even Annie's sanity. He got almost anything he wanted, which was why everyone in the District sought to be his friend.

He had been actively pursuing Annie for about a year, which was coincidentally right around the time Annie's body started resembling a woman's rather than a little boy's. She didn't particularly mind his innocent advances, but she did mind the judgment from some of the people her age because she didn't reciprocate his feelings. It wasn't that she didn't find him attractive; she just couldn't get the vision of him bullying Finnick out of her head. When they were younger, he used to pester and torture Finnick almost incessantly. When Finnick's mother left District 4, the bullying only got worse, which probably lead to Finnick's eventual dropping out.

"No one is getting married, Dom. Naomi was just telling me a joke." Annie laughed nervously in order to hide their real conversation.

"Yeah, a joke." Naomi agreed.

Dominic leaned on the counter. "I'd love to hear it."

Naomi forcibly coughed loudly, which allowed time for Annie to come up with a good lie.

"You know. It's really only funny if you know our other inside jokes. I'd hate to try and explain them all to you and then ruin the humor of the joke. I'm sorry about that."

Dominic looked confused, but he apparently bought their story because he moved on to a different subject. "So did you guys hear about that party tonight?"

"Of course. I'm excited!" Naomi interjected.

Annie knew about the party as well, but she wanted to feign ignorance in the hopes that he wouldn't ask her to go with him.

"Party? No I haven't heard anything about that. But I'm glad you're excited Naomi. I hope you guys have fun." She looked down and began scrubbing hard at a nonexistent spot on the counter.

"'I hope you guys have fun?' Does that mean that you won't be going?" Dominic tried to make eye contact with Annie, but she wouldn't look up from the counter.

"Oh, no. My brother's birthday is tomorrow and I have to work late tonight so that I don't have to work tomorrow."

Dominic was not going to give up that easily. "I can talk to Lipinski for you and he'll—"

"No that's really okay. I don't want you to go out of your way for me."

"It's not out of my way, Annie. Look the reason I came over here today…" He grabbed her right arm tightly, which stopped her cleaning. "Will you look at me for just a damn second please? I'm trying to ask you out." Annie tried to pull away from him but he had a firm hold of her arm.

"Hey buddy let go of her arm." Naomi ordered. He ignored her.

Annie lifted her head up slightly, but she still avoided eye contact. "Dominic, that is really nice but—" She was interrupted by a deeper and much angrier voice.

"But maybe you should let go of her arm before I break yours." Finnick was standing a few feet away from the entrance of the shop. His jaw and hands were clenched. As he walked closer to them, Dominic let go of Annie.

"Odair, I didn't even hear you come in. What brings you to the non-victor portion of District 4?"

"Annie, actually." He took a shiny little box out of his pocket. "I was going to give her this present for her brother's birthday tomorrow." He was now standing right next to Dominic. When they were younger, Dominic was bigger than Finnick, but now Finnick stood like a giant over him. "Is your arm okay, Annie?" He said this without breaking eye contact with Dominic.

"Yeah, I wasn't hurting her." Dominic stated.

"Did I ask you, asshole?"

Dominic became enraged. "Hey, listen here, Odair. You might think you're hot shit in the Capitol but my father is the mayor around here and you can't talk to me like that."

Finnick began laughing hysterically. Naomi joined in halfheartedly to ease some of the tension of the situation.

After his laughter had subsided some, Finnick wiped his eyes and smiled widely. "Gah, Dom when did you become such a sissy daddy's boy?"

Dominic made an aggressive move toward Finnick, and Annie knew it was time to intervene. She leapt over the counter with the intention of pushing herself between them. Unfortunately her foot caught on the edge of the counter and she lost her balance. She tumbled over the counter in an extremely ungraceful way. Annie closed her eyes and let out a squeal as she plummeted toward the ground.

Finnick moved quickly and caught her in his strong arms before she hit the ground. When she opened her eyes, they immediately locked with Finnick's.

Naomi leaned over the counter. "Annie! Are you alright?"

Although Annie could hear Naomi talking to her, she was too distracted by Finnick to actually make sense of any of the words she was saying.

"Annie!"

Annie tore her eyes away from Finnick and looked at Naomi.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

Naomi's judgmental gaze brought Annie back to reality. She realized that Finnick was still holding her in his arms, and that Dominic was standing off to the side with his hands crossed across his chest. She pushed herself out of his arms and smoothed out her dress.

"I'm fine. Thank you." She turned to Finnick. "Can I talk to you for a moment? Outside."

"Alone?" He glanced at Dominic.

Annie grabbed his arm. "Yes. Come on." She pulled him towards the door. Before leaving, she looked back at Naomi and Dominic, "I'll be right back. I'm just going to take my break really quick."

She led him behind the building.

"Well, this is really romantic. But if you wanted to be alone then I could have found a better place than this." Finnick flashed her a devilish smile.

"Cut it out, Finnick. What the hell was that back there?"

Finnick's smile faded and he became serious. "How long has that been going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long has Dominic had his eyes on you?"

Annie crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow. "I don't believe this. You're jealous."

Finnick forced out a fake laugh. "Ha. That's ridiculous. I have no reason to be jealous of that idiot."

"Then why do you care?"

Finnick grabbed Annie's hand gently. "Because he is dangerous, Annie. Men like that don't change. The aggression he had as a child is only going to be worse now." He looked down at the ground. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Annie jerked her hand away. "I'll be fine, Finnick. I can take care of myself."

"I know."

"Then you don't need to worry about Dominic. And you don't need to start fights with him."

Although Finnick wanted to explain to her that no matter what she said he wasn't going to let Dominic anywhere near her again, he didn't want to start another fight. Therefore, he decided to wait and tell her later.

"You're right."

His words gave her pause because she wasn't expecting him to just agree with her. She thought that he would say something that would upset her, and they would keep arguing.

"Oh," She took a minute to think about what to say next. "I am right. So I guess that's that."

He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I guess it is."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well I should probably get back to work."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But don't forget to take this to Milo." He pulled the tiny present from before out of his pocket.

Annie looked at the present and then at him. "You should probably just give it to him tomorrow at the party."

Finnick looked surprised. "Wait, are you inviting me to the party?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "Don't make a big deal out of it. I'm doing this for Milo. He is going to freak out when he sees the great and noble Finnick Odair at his birthday party."

He smiled widely. "I'll be there. What time?"

"It's at our house at 3pm. Do you still remember where that is?"

"Of course. Thank you Annie."

"No problem, Finn."

He grabbed her hand in a dramatic gesture and kissed it lightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Cresta."

All of the blood in Annie's body rushed to her face. "Uh, yeah, bye. I'll see you." She quickly turned away from him before he could see her blush.

Dominic was gone when Annie got back into the store. Naomi was standing behind the counter looking slightly guilty.

"Where did he go?" Annie asked.

"Uh, he left." Naomi avoided eye contact.

"Yes, I can see that. Do you know why he left?"

Naomi said nothing.

Her silence made Annie's heart race. "What did you say to him, Naomi?"

She stared at the counter. "I might have told him that you and Finnick were a thing."

"What? Why would you say that?"

Naomi put her head in her hands. "I panicked, okay. He kept asking me if there was something going on between you guys. What was I supposed to say?"

A frustrated growl escaped Annie's lips. "You could have told him the truth, which is that nothing is going on between us!"

Naomi gave her an incredulous look. "Annie, anyone with eyes can tell that there is something going on between you two. Anyway, I tried at first to say nothing was going on but he didn't believe me."

Annie wanted to bang her head against a wall, but she knew that that probably wouldn't solve anything.

"Are you mad?"

Annie shook her head. "No. This is a good thing maybe. Now he knows that I have no interest in him."

"Exactly." Naomi agreed. "And if you want me to I can tell him at the party tonight that he wasn't—"

"NO! Don't tell him anything else. I need to be the one to talk to him."

"Alright. I am sorry, Annie."

Annie went over to Naomi and gave her a hug. "It's not your fault. You were dragged into all of this craziness. I'm sorry."

Naomi squeezed her friend tightly. "Everything will be okay…hopefully."

Annie laughed.

By the time Annie left the store, it was almost midnight. Everyone, including Naomi and Mr. Lipinski, had left at nine, but she stayed behind to count inventory and clean. After locking the door, she slung the pack of food she bought for her brother's birthday over her shoulder and started the long walk to her house. With the tip that Mag's had given her she was able to buy more than enough food, which even included some chocolate. She was planning on baking it into a cake. She couldn't wait to get home and start the preparations.

The District was quiet and the only thing Annie could hear were the waves gently lapping the shore. She loved walking home by herself at this time of night. Everything was peaceful, and she got time to just think about anything she wanted to. Tonight, she thought solely about Finnick. She thought about how he made her feel and how her life would change if they became friends again. Friends. Could they really ever be just friends again? That is what scared Annie the most. What if their feelings had grown too strong to allow the possibility of being just friends? What if…

The sound of a vehicle pulling up behind her took her away from her thoughts. She turned around and was immediately blinded by the headlights. She held up her hand in an attempt to block the light from her eyes.

"Hello? Excuse me could you please turn off your headlights?"

She heard the sound of a car door open.

"Hello?" Annie's heart was racing in her chest.

Then without any warning, the lights switched off. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

"Hey cutie! What brings you out here?"

Annie recognized his voice before she could actually see him clearly.

"Dominic?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-A Long Walk Home

"Dominic? What are you doing here?"

"Oh…I was just driving by and I saw you walking so I stopped to make sure you were okay."

Although Annie was relieved that Dominic was the person in the car, she felt uneasy about the entire situation. Most of her uneasiness came from the way Dominic was slouching against his car. He looked and sounded intoxicated and his smile suggested ulterior motives.

"Well, that is really sweet but I'm fine." As an afterthought, "Maybe you shouldn't be driving in your condition."

"I'm fine." He started slowly walking toward her, like a lion approaching its prey. "Besides, I'm not even driving so you don't need to worry."

After he said those words, two other boys that Annie had seen hanging around Dominic on many occasions got out of the vehicle. The taller one, Annie thought, was named Benji and the other was Lionel. Annie's stomach leapt into her chest.

"Well, I need to get home. My mother is waiting for me." Annie turned and started briskly walking away.

Dominic ran in front of her and blocked her way.

"Wait, don't you want to know how the party was?" His breath reeked of alcohol.

Annie shook her head. "Not really, Dom. I'm tired, and I just want to get home."

He obviously didn't like her answer because his demeanor suddenly changed. The smile faded from his face, and he aggressively pushed her back when she tried to walk away again.

"What are you doing, Dominic?" Out of the corner of her eye, Annie saw Benji take a step closer to them. Lionel hung back with his hands in his pockets.

"So, would you want to know about the party if Finnick was there?" The dim lights from the streetlamps cast a menacing shadow across his face.

Annie attempted to keep her breathing steady in order to hide her rising fear. "I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to walk away once more. "Now, I really need to get home."

He grabbed her arm. "Don't play dumb. Naomi told me there was something going on between you two."

Instead of becoming hostile, Annie tried to stay level headed and talk him down. "Naomi was mistaken. We're just good friends, Dominic. You remember how Finnick and I were friends when we were younger."

His grip tightened. "No. I saw you two today. Are you screwing him?"

Annie's cool demeanor began to dissipate. "I don't think that is any of your business."

He laughed sarcastically. "It is actually. Because you're mine and Finnick doesn't seem to understand that."

"I'm yours? Dominic, you've got this really twisted. I am not yours. I do not belong to you. We're not even dating!"

All of her life, Annie had been warned by numerous people about her short temper. Even though she knew that this was not the time to prove those people right, Dominic's possessiveness was digging at her last nerve. She wasn't sure how long she could keep from giving him a piece of her mind.

"What are you talking about, Annie? I come to see you like every day." He began to softly caress her cheek while still maintaining a firm grip on her arm.

Annie shied away from his hand. "Dominic, I never encouraged that behavior."

He violently grabbed her chin and pulled her face extremely close to his. "That's not true. You would always smile at me and talk to me and flirt with me. You wanted me."

"Dominic, you're really drunk right now. I think you should go home before you embarrass yourself more."

Annie shouldn't have added "more" with such a condescending tone but she was getting more and more upset with Dominic and wanted to hurt him like he was hurting her. Like he had hurt Finnick when they were younger.

Dominic dropped his hand from her face but tightened his hold on her arm. His fingernails dug into her skin, and she flinched slightly from the pain.

"Don't talk to me like that." He warned.

"Or what?" She was openly testing him despite her better judgment.

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Or I'll make you regret it."

At this point Annie's reasoning skills were being overshadowed by her anger. "Don't make me laugh, Dominic. You won't do anything. Now, let go of my arm."

"Annie, I'm not sure what has gotten into you, but you need to stop and think about how you're acting."

She looked straight into his eyes. "You make me sick." She should have stopped there, but she didn't. "Dominic let go of me…so I can go to Finnick's house and we can talk about how utterly pathetic you are."

Never in her life had Annie experienced such pain as she did when Dominic slapped her across the face. The sheer force of the hit knocked her off balance, but Dominic was still holding onto her arm so she didn't completely fall backwards onto the ground.

The anger faded off of his face and was immediately replaced by guilt. "Annie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

Once she sorted out her thoughts and regained her footing, Annie kicked him hard between the legs. He let go of her and stumbled backwards. She took this opportunity to run far away.

Annie wasn't sure where she was going because her house was in the complete opposite direction of where she was running. Once she saw the gates of Victor's Village, however, she realized she was running to him. To safety. To Finnick.

She was probably one hundred feet from the gate when she stopped to catch her breath. Her lungs were burning, and her back ached from running the long distance while carrying the heavy sack of food.

Her moment of rest was short lived, because Dominic and his two friends suddenly ran up behind her. Benji grabbed her before she could escape. She screamed.

"Hush her up!" Dominic ordered while taking the bag of food off her shoulder and throwing it on the ground. All of the food spilled out onto the dirt.

Benji clapped his hand over her mouth. She squirmed and kicked violently.

How could Annie use that food for Milo's birthday tomorrow? Everything was ruined and it was completely Dominic's fault. Why didn't she just tell him in the beginning to not come and see her at the store? Why? She blamed her vanity. She secretly enjoyed the attention, and now she was suffering because of it. Maybe she was the real problem. Maybe she deserved for this to happen.

"Annie, calm down. I just want to talk to you." Dominic was standing in front of her while Lionel stood over his shoulder looking nervous.

"Man, I don't think we should be doing this." He said.

Dominic ignored him. "Come on, there are a lot of houses around here."

They started dragging Annie away from Victor's Village. She struggled harder than before, which caused Benji to loosen his grip in order to readjust his hold on her. This gave her the opportunity to break free by elbowing Benji in the mouth. Even though she knew that it would be smarter to run away, her anger towards Dominic caused her to just abandon reason and charge him. She lashed out at him with her fists and her feet. She didn't even care where she was hitting him; just that she was hitting him. He did little to protect himself from her other than putting up his hands to shield his face.

"Get off of him!" Benji pulled her off of Dominic and slung her on the ground. She let out a cry of pain as her forehead hit the ground. Hot liquid started dripping down her face. Blood.

"Hey man, be careful with her."

"Guys let's just leave her alone. What if she tells someone?"

"Shut up, do you see what she did to my face?"

Annie's head was fuzzy so she couldn't even tell who was talking at that point. She rolled over and attempted to get up, but there was suddenly a weight on her chest. Someone pinned her arms to the ground next to either side of her head. She still tried to fight even though the head wound was making her extremely weak.

"Listen Annie," she could feel hot breath on her face. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Things have just gotten really out of hand. I'm sorry. Let me take you home." This was definitely Dominic talking to her. Was he the one that was pinning her arms as well? The weight suddenly lifted off of her chest and her vision started to get clearer. Dominic was standing above her with a concerned look on his face. He tried to help her up, but she jerked away from him.

"Come on, Annie. Don't be that way."

"Just leave her, man."

"Alright, hold on." Dominic bent down next to her. "Annie, you forgive me, right. You aren't going to tell anyone about this, right?"

Annie hated him. She couldn't even imagine a day where she wouldn't look at him and become immediately sick to her stomach.

"Go to hell."

"That's it." Benji started walking towards her while Lionel just stood passively in the background.

He pushed Dominic out of the way and grabbed Annie. She could see blood flowing from the wound she had inflicted on his lip. He flipped her onto her stomach and dug his knee into her back. He put his hand on the back of her head and pushed it into the ground.

"What are you doing?" Dominic yelled.

"I'm gonna teach her some respect. She won't talk to anyone after tonight."

"Get off of me!" Annie yelled.

"Shut up!"

Annie knew exactly what was about to happen next, and the only thing she could do was cry out in the hopes someone would hear.

"HELP ME!"

She could feel him pressing himself against her.

"FINNICK!"

Victor's Village:

It was the weirdest thing. Finnick had woken up in the middle of the night for what he thought was no apparent reason. He didn't remember having an unpleasant dream or hearing an unusually loud noise. Now that he was awake, however, he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. It had been that way ever since the Hunger Games.

Finnick sat at the edge of his bed and laid his head in his hands. He suddenly heard something faintly in the distance. It sounded like a scream. Without thinking he hastily put on a shirt and sprinted downstairs. A rush of cold air stung Finnick's skin when he opened his front door. He took a few steps out into the chilly night and listened intently. Silence. After a minute of hearing nothing but the wind, he headed back inside. Before he shut the door, however, he heard someone distinctly yell "help me". He ran towards the cry at full speed. Once he got outside the gate, he heard something else. His own name. Someone was calling out for him. His heart began to race faster as he ran because he recognized the voice. It was Annie!

"Annie!" He screamed for her at the top of his lungs.

Annie shut her eyes and pretended that she wasn't laying on her stomach with her face pressed into the muddy ground while a teenage boy loomed over her. She pretended that all of the groceries she had bought for tomorrow weren't covered in bugs and dirt. She pretended that she could hear Finnick's voice. Wait, she could hear voice. He was calling for her. Even with her head injury, Annie was sure that his voice wasn't just a figment of her imagination.

"Finnick!" she yelled, "I'm here!"

"Shut up!" Benji slammed her head against the ground one more time before getting off of her and walking toward Dominic.

"What do you want to do, Dom?" he asked.

"He's coming, guys." Lionel said. "We need to leave now."

Dominic was about ready to agree with Lionel. He didn't particularly want Benji to hurt Annie anymore, although a part of him relished in her suffering. Now that Finnick was coming, though, his pride outweighed his concern for her. He was going to show Finnick that he was still on top even though he wasn't the Capitol's pretty boy toy.

"Are you kidding? There's three of us and only one of him. He doesn't stand a chance." He spat.

Annie's head was pounding and black spots clouded her vision. She couldn't let herself fall unconscious, though, not while Finnick was so close. If she could just run to him, then he could help her get away from them. He could save her. With all of her strength, Annie pushed herself from the ground and ran blindly in the direction of Finnick's voice.

"Get her!"

She could hear them running after her down the empty streets. Annie's heart was racing and every part of her body shook uncontrollably.

She hadn't run very far when she slammed into something sturdy. Annie's eyesight was still cloudy so she was unable to see what she had run into. A strong pair of arms wrapped around her, and she struggled to free herself from them.

"Let me go, please." She begged.

"Annie! It's me!"

At the sound of his voice, Annie started crying. She threw her arms around Finnick and dug her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, a million questions swirling around in his head.

"Annie, are you okay?"

She was silent.

"Annie…"

Finnick released her and placed his hands on either side of her face. He used his thumbs to stroke her soft cheeks. There was blood dripping down her face from a nasty head wound, and she had a busted lip. Before he could fully assess the rest of her injuries, Annie spoke to him with a desperate tone of voice.

"Finnick we need to get out of here. They're coming…"

"They're here actually." Dominic's voice sent a shiver down Annie's spine. She turned around and saw Benji and Dominic standing a few feet away from them while Lionel hung back a little bit.

Annie's fists clenched and she backed into Finnick. She felt his body shaking violently. When she turned to look into his eyes, she saw nothing but pure unadulterated rage.

"Finnick…let's just go."

"Yeah, Finnick." Dominic mimicked Annie's voice, "You should probably just go. I think Annie's tired from all of the fun we had tonight. Didn't we have fun, Annie?"

Annie couldn't believe he was acting this way. She hoped most of his behavior was a result of the alcohol, but after all he had done, she couldn't be sure.

"Finnick…"

He cut her off. "Get behind me, Annie."

She obeyed him without any protest, which only made him madder. Annie was stubborn and rarely gave into something without a fight. She especially wouldn't like the idea of him belittling her ability to take care of herself by simply telling her to get behind him. Her timidity and obedience coupled with her injuries meant that something really bad had happened to her tonight, and these boys were responsible for it. He was going to make them wish they were dead.

"Well, well, are you going to fight us Odair? I will say that your odds aren't very good but we all know that you've faced worse. This time, though, you don't have your little spear to help you." Dominic took a step closer to Finnick.

Finnick smiled. "Well, I'll say that my odds are little better since your group of three just went down to two."

Benji and Dominic turned around just in time to see Lionel running down the street as fast as he could.

"Coward." Benji sneered. "We didn't need him anyway. Let's just do this."

With a nod of Dominic's head, they charged Finnick.

He easily took both of them down. Benji got a swift kick to the stomach while Dominic got a double punch to the face. When Benji attempted to get up, Finnick knocked him out completely with a strong blow to the nose. Dominic got up quickly and lunged at Finnick. He caught Dominic by the arm and used his leg to knock him off balance. Then, he began violently punching Dominic repeatedly in the face. More and more blood started running down Dominic's face, but Finnick didn't stop.

If he didn't relent, Annie knew that he might kill him. She couldn't let him do that because of her.

"Finnick, stop! Please." She pleaded.

He stopped attacking Dominic, but still kept a grip on his arm.

As Dominic knelt on the ground with a bloody face and his arm at the mercy of Finnick, Annie almost felt sorry for him. She watched closely as Finnick bent down to whisper something she couldn't hear into his ear.

"Please don't." Dominic begged, choking slightly on all of the blood that was in his mouth. He struggled in vain to loosen himself from Finnick's firm grip.

Why was he begging and struggling? What had Finnick told him?

Finnick suddenly began moving his hands into a weird position on Dominic's arm. Annie figured out what he was doing too late.

"NO FINNICK DON'T!"

The night was quiet, so Annie could plainly hear the sound of Dominic's arm breaking. Finnick didn't even flinch as Dominic cried out in pain. He moved away from Dominic slightly before kicking him in the chest and causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. He clutched is arm and moaned.

Annie's whole body felt heavy, and she was having trouble holding herself up. She took one last look at Finnick before falling to the ground.

"Annie!"

Luckily, Finnick was able to catch her before she hit the ground. He cradled her head and looked into her eyes. She smiled weakly at him.

"Annie, you're safe. I'm gonna take care of you, I promise."

"Finnick I just have…" Before she could finish, Annie fell unconscious.

He picked her up in both arms and started running back to Victor's Village. Annie needed some medical attention and there was only one person he trusted to take care of her.

An unintelligible whisper escaped Annie's lips, and Finnick could see her eyes moving around underneath her eyelids. She continued to make sounds and twitch slightly like she was having a dream.

Hopefully, it was a dream and not a nightmare.


End file.
